DO NOT "Adopt" from Forever Friends Animal League

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DO NOT get a dog/puppy from "Debbie" of Forever Friends Animal League. This woman does not run a rescue. She is a puppy mill breeder in disguise.
My husband and I were looking for a boxer, but we wanted to get one from a rescue rather than a breeder. After searching various shelters, we came across FFAL, who lists themselves as a rescue. I called the number provided and spoke with a woman named "Debbie" (I doubt this is her real name). When I inquired about how her "rescue" came across a litter of boxer puppies, she told me that they were the outcome of an accidental meeting between two boxers, and that the owner of the female didn't want them (seemed like a crazy coincidence to me that 2 purebred, unfixed boxers had a date night, but I took her at her word. Of course, if you look at her list of available dogs, they're all purebred or popular mix puppies. Again, ironic).
I asked her if I could meet her at her shelter location (no address is provided), and she informed me that she runs a mobile rescue out of her home (should have been red flag #1). She offered to meet me outside of a Denny's, which I thought was odd but gave her the benefit of the doubt that she was a caring woman who was legitimately trying to adopt out rescued animals (I could see myself doing that...), but that the "adoption fee" was $500 (really? $500 for adoption? Again, should have been red flags #2-6!). There was another family at Denny's waiting to meet up with her when I got there. She arrived in a beaten up van that reeked of urine and feces. Debbie herself appeared to know very little about personal hygiene, so I shouldn't have been surprised that all of the puppies, the boxer and 3 shih tzu/daschund mixes, were being kept together in a crate that was full of diarrhea and urine (red flag #7). All of the puppies looked way too young to be adopted out. When I picked up the boxer I could tell he had worms, and said to Debbie, "On the phone you told me all the dogs have been de-wormed. This guy looks like he's full of worms," and her response was, "Oh, well, I saw him make a little tootsie roll poop earlier today, but here is some medication I've been giving him. We medicate all of our animals at our home." She gave me some random, unmarked white pill with no medical description at all (red flag #8). At that point I realized that this wasn't a legitimate adoption and that she was a con artist dog breeder, but I couldn't bring myself to hand the boxer back to her. He looked so pathetic and I didn't trust how she would care for him. So I adopted, I mean, bought the dog from her, and she told me that he had tested negative for coccidia and gave me the name and number of a "vet" that she works with who would neuter him for free once he was old enough (turns out the vet is just some unlicensed guy, nice).
This pup looked so bad that I took him straight to the vet office my cousin works at (I'm very fortunate to have a family member who works in a vet clinic), and he immediately exploded with diarrhea everywhere (very embarrassing, but I knew he had worms based on his distended belly). He turned up positive for coccidia, but thankfully he was negative for Parvo (several of the vets were extremely concerned based on his appearance and behavior). He had fleas and was malnourished and dehydrated. When I showed my cousin the "medication" Debbie had given me she couldn't identity it. Everyone at the clinic was really upset to know that a puppy mill breeder was going around pretending to run a rescue.
I called Debbie the next day to tell her that I took the dog to the vet and that he was positive for coccidia and worms. Her response was that she wasn't surprised, but that she gave me medication for it. My response was, "Well, I figured you'd want to know so you could separate the puppies and get them proper medication", and she got upset, insisting that they are properly medicated at her "facility".
In the end, our dog, Jackson, has become a wonderful member of our family. But the only way it worked out was because we were fortunate enough to have the money to pay for all of his vet bills. Please, do not go to this woman. I would have given zero stars if that had been an option. She is breeding and selling dogs, not rescuing and adopting them. Go to a legitimate shelter like Wayside Waifs. They will hook you up with great dogs/puppies that are fixed and healthy.

I am guessing you are referring to the Forever Friends Animal League based in Kansas City? I actually know the exact rescue you are mentioning. I have never dealt with them myself but having previously been very involved with local rescue (and currently still stick my nose in a lot of rescue news when I can) I have heard a few things about them & have noticed a few things myself. I will say that over the past few years every time I have viewed their avaible dogs they are almost always just puppies (with the exception of an occosional young adult dog). Ontop of that their dogs are usually purebreds or designer dog mixes. Both things seem very odd to me. And I do remember discussing with a person, I was in rescue with, about how crazy expensive the adoption fees were. The ranged from about $400 to sometimes even $600! I just thought this was crazy. And that almost all of their dogs come to them as breeder release .

While I hate to total judge and jump to conclusions that this rescue is a puppy mill or something similar, I will say I do feel that there is something sketchy about this place. Now when I looked at their website they did list an address for a facility, but I don't know if that is something newly acquired since you got your dog from them.

I am very sorry you had such a negative experience when trying to adopt. There many great rescues & shelters in the area (Wayside is a good one)and I do hope that this bad one does not affect your desire to adopt a shelter dog in the future.

I am sorry you had to go through this and thankful that your boy landed in a good home.
That said I run a private rescue, out of my home(which anyone is welcome to visit). I don't meet people in parking lots, but I do have a pile of "purebred" pups sometimes, and my fees are 350. Of course we are in Canada where things are a bit pricier and my dogs come with proof of vet care. In many cases, most in fact, my fee doesn't cover costs.
My point is that while 'debbi' is obviously running a scam don't tar everyone with the same brush.
Again thank you for the warning and thank you for giving a needy pup a chance.

I wish I had seen this before our recent adoption experience. We too made the mistake of trusting Debbie and adopting a Rottweiler puppy. We were told the Rottweiler was a breeder release. We were curious why a breeder would release a 5 month old puppy. We paid $550 for our puppy, but he was in desperate need of attention. The North Oak Trafficway location is dirty and he had fleas and worms. At our first vet visit, we had his rabies shot done and the vet detected within minutes he has a heart murmur. He said our puppy will not likely live a long life or a normal life. We can have an ultrasound done for $400-500, but in the end the vet thinks there really isn't anything that can be done. When I called Debbie, she basically said that the breeder would have told her. Then it was a story that a lady bought her from a breeder, but decided she did not want him, but he saw two vets and they both said he was fine. Then she said oh well you know big dogs don't live long anyway. She knew she was sending us home with a sick dog, but she took our $550 and refused to refund our money. We love our puppy, and we will take care of him. However, this is not a rescue. They may be classified as non-profit, but this is a breeding business. They are dishonest and cruel.

The vet did not tell us the grade. At the time, it would not have meant anything to us. But, he did say that it was severe enough that he will not neuter him for fear that he would not survive the surgery. I am going to ask him the grade at the follow up appointment. The vet assumed we knew already. He was amazed that anyone would adopt a dog out without telling us.

It is a shame that this lady is representing herself as non-profit no kill shelter, when really she is a puppy mill that has cheated the system by filing non-profit status in KS and lives and runs her business in Missouri

I remember when we were looking for a dog. We saw a German Shepherd pup through Pet Finder that was at Forever Friends Animal League-they wanted $650!! For a rescue? Oh please-spotted it was a scam from the get go. I'm only looking up the facility because I heard a blurb on the news tonight that she's been shut down. Something about the ASPCA, or another group, going to their place of business and it was closed (someone didn't show up for work) with all the pets inside. They were taking the animals out and bringing them to another shelter. I am sorry for everyone that had to deal with her-how disgusting. We wound up going to Unleashed rescue in Mission and getting 2 pups (at a fraction of the cost of what this woman was asking for one). If you're looking for a furry family member, check out unleashed-they are really outstanding.